![]() Oreo-caramel flavored McFlurry | |
Type | McDonald's frozen soft serve dessert |
---|---|
Place of origin | Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada |
Created by | Ron McLellan |
Invented | 1995 |
The McFlurry is a brand-name of frozen soft serve dessert produced and sold by American-based multinational fast food chain McDonald's. It is served in a cup, with additional mixed-in ingredients such as candy and cookie fragments and sweet topping sauces. It was created in 1995 by Ron McLellan, a Canadian McDonald's franchise owner in Bathurst, New Brunswick, and later introduced to the United States in 1997.
The McFlurry was created by Canadian McDonald's franchisee Ron McLellan in Bathurst, New Brunswick, in 1995. [1] [2] [3] The first McFlurry, which was Oreo-flavored, was sold on June 7, 1995. After proving successful in Bathurst, McDonalds began offering the McFlurry at a number of Toronto locations. [4] In the U.S., the McFlurry was test-marketed in select regions in 1997. By March 1998, the product was available to all American and Canadian locations and has been gradually introduced in various other locations since then. [5]
Until September 2006, the McFlurry was served with a container lid having an opening that was of a size that caused some animals to become trapped with their head stuck inside the discarded containers. An outcry in the UK, particularly to protect European hedgehogs, caused a redesign in the container shape. [6] After "significant research and design testing", the company addressed the problem in 2006 by reducing the size of the opening to prevent entry of an animal's head. [7] In June 2019, McDonald's announced it planned to stop using lids on McFlurrys in the United Kingdom by September 2019, as part of a move to reduce the use of single-use plastics by the chain. [8] However, lids with circular openings are still being used in some other markets as of September 2023.
30 Rock prominently featured the McFlurry in the plot of its season 3 episode 11, "St. Valentine's Day". [9] Although some commenters interpreted the prominence of the product in the episode as heavy-handed product placement, [9] it was later reported that McDonald's had not paid to have it featured, [10] and the show's producers were even worried that McDonald's might sue them for featuring it without authorization. [11]
The McFlurry consists of whipped, soft serve McDonald's vanilla-flavored ice cream in a cup. The McFlurry has a specially designed spoon with a hole in the handle which is attached to a blender. Various types of candy or cookies are added to the cup, which are then blended into the ice cream using the spoon. McFlurry flavors vary from market to market, and new flavors are introduced regularly.
The ice cream in a McFlurry is the same that McDonald's uses for its cones and sundaes. [12] The ice cream is made from ultra-high-temperature (UHT) pasteurized milk, extended with methylcellulose.[ citation needed ] CNBC reported that, from late 2016, McDonald's started phasing out artificial flavors from its vanilla ice cream. [12] The change was part of an effort to recover the more than 500 million customer visits it had lost since 2012. [12]
Despite referring to the McFlurry as "a quick-serve medley of gelatinous, innocuous ice cream that some reviewers might consider closer to caulk than dairy", Wil Fulton and Kat Thompson of Thrillist described the M&M McFlurry as "the epitome of low stakes, drive-thru fun", placing it at the end of their list of the 13 Best Fast Food Desserts. [13] Dan Myers of The Daily Meal included the Oreo McFlurry in its (unranked) list of 10 Best Fast Food Desserts, saying "You'd be hard-pressed to encounter anyone who isn't a fan of this sweet treat." [14]
A milkshake is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may also be made using a base made from non-dairy products, including plant milks such as almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. Dry ingredients such as whole fruit, nuts, seeds, candy, or cookies may be incorporated.
Oreo is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet fondant filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers, and splits, both Nabisco and the Oreo brand have been owned by Mondelez International since 2012. Oreo cookies are available in over one hundred countries. Many varieties of Oreo cookies have been produced, and limited-edition runs have become popular in the 21st century.
Drumstick is the brand name, owned by Froneri, a joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners, for a variety of frozen dessert-filled ice cream cones sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other countries. The original product was invented by I.C. Parker of the Drumstick Company of Fort Worth, Texas, in 1928.
Breyers is an ice cream and frozen dessert brand with headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Since 1993, Breyers has been owned and managed by the British conglomerate, Unilever. Founded in 1866, Breyers is the oldest manufacturer of ice cream in the United States.
Snack Pack is a brand of pudding and gelatin dessert snacks manufactured since 1968 by ConAgra Foods.
Cookies and cream is a variety of ice cream, milkshake, and other desserts that includes chocolate sandwich cookies, with the most popular version containing hand or pre-crumbled cookies from Nabisco's Oreo brand under a licensing agreement, or else, containing crumbles of a similar cookie of a different brand or private label. Cookies and cream ice cream generally mixes crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies into vanilla ice cream, though variations exist which might instead use chocolate, coffee or mint ice cream.
Melona (Korean: 메로나) is a South Korean ice pop, manufactured by Binggrae Co. Ltd. Although the product is called "Melona" and is identified by its melon flavor, the ice pop also comes in other fruit flavors, such as banana, strawberry, mango, purple yam, coconut, blueberry, and grape. Each 80 ml/2.7 fl oz bar contains 130 kcal of energy as of 2009.
Nutter Butter is an American sandwich cookie brand, first introduced in 1969 and currently owned by Nabisco, which is a subsidiary of Mondelez International. It is claimed to be the best-selling American peanut butter sandwich cookie, with around a billion estimated to be eaten every year.
Hydrox is a creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie currently owned and manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in the United States in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999, three years after Sunshine was acquired by Keebler, which was later acquired by Kellogg's which in turn sold the cookie line and the rights to the Keebler name to Ferrero SpA. In September 2015, the product was reintroduced by Leaf Brands.
Mövenpick Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream of Swiss origin produced initially by Nestlé. Since 2016, Froneri - a joint venture between Nestlé and R&R Ice Cream - manufactures it.
Sold at Hungry Jack's, Burger King's Australian franchise, a Storm is a flavoured ice cream dessert similar to McDonald's McFlurry ice cream. The product consists of vanilla flavoured soft serve ice cream served with either one of four flavours; Cookies & Cream (Oreo), Flake, Mini M&Ms. The selected flavour is then whipped together with the ice cream using a blender. Limited time toppings such as biscoff have been created.
Vanilla is frequently used to flavor ice cream, especially in North America, Asia, and Europe. Vanilla ice cream, like other flavors of ice cream, was originally created by cooling a mixture made of cream, sugar, and vanilla above a container of ice and salt. The type of vanilla used to flavor ice cream varies by location. In North America and Europe consumers are interested in a more prominent, smoky flavor, while in Ireland, a more anise-like flavor is desired. To create the smooth consistency of ice cream, the mixture has to be stirred occasionally and then returned to the container of ice and salt to continue the solidification process. According to Iced: 180 Very Cool Concoctions, many people often consider vanilla to be the "default" or "plain" flavor of ice cream.
A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie made from two cookies with a filling between them. Typically the hard, thin cookies known as biscuits outside North America are used, though some sandwich cookies use softer or thicker cookies. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, lemon curd, or ice cream.
Serradura, also known as sawdust pudding or Macau pudding, is a well-known Portuguese dessert, popular in both Portugal and Macau, as well as Goa, with a layered appearance alternating between whipped cream and crumbled Marie biscuit.
The McDonald's fast food chain has used multiple ice cream machines at its various locations, but the chain has primarily operated those made by the Taylor Company. In 1956, Ray Kroc, who would soon become the founding owner-operator of the McDonald's franchise business, made a handshake agreement with the Taylor Company to supply milkshake machines for the fast food chain as its exclusive supplier. The two companies have continued to cooperate to the present day.
Negresco is a Brazilian sandwich cookie brand created by Nestlé, originally being sold by its now defunct subsidiary Biscoitos São Luiz in 1987. The product was created as a competitor to the Oreo brand, consisting of two chocolate biscuits with a filling usually in vanilla flavor. After the end of São Luiz in 2002, the cookies began to be sold under the Nestlé label. It came onto the Brazilian market and is still only sold there as Biscoitos Recheados and Biscoitos Wafer.